Investigation of magnetron sputtered nano-silver coating on titanium surface with micro-nanostructure

Radio frequency magnetron sputtering was used to deposit nano-silver coating on the surface of pure titanium with micro- and nano- layered structure with different components of the sputtering target and different sputtering time. The surface morphology and composition analysis show that silver nanoparticles could be successfully deposited on the surface and micro-nano holes, and with the extension of sputtering time, silver nanoparticles would first form aggregates and then disappear to form nano-silver coating. The wettability and surface roughness of the coating were related to the magnetron sputtering time, and the surface hydrophilicity increased with the increase of sputtering time. In general, the release rate of silver ions showed the characteristics of first fast and then slow, and the total release increased with the extension of soaking time. The maximum release amount of silver ions reached 356.5 μg/L in the sample with a sputtering time of 30 s within 7 days. Within 12–24 h, when the magnetron sputtering duration was 30 s, the antibacterial performances of the samples were the best, and there was no toxicity to mouse osteoblasts. The modified pure titanium surface had good biocompatibility and antibacterial properties. The results can potentially guide and inspire further ideas about the surface modifications of pure implants.